The Black Canary Rises
by writingeek73
Summary: Nine months after Laurel's death, Oliver finds her in a cabin, being tortured by Ghosts. He rescues her, and they go through her struggles together. Lauriver. Laurel will get her cry and the crossovers will be a separate mini series. Side note: I am not good at writing summaries. :)
1. Chapter 1

Oliver walked into the bunker, smelling of sweat and C4. Felicity was standing in front of the glass case that held Laurels' Black Canary costume. They would often linger near it when they needed a reminder of why they were doing what they were doing at night. Oliver sighed, he felt somehow more exhausted tonight, than most. Felicity turned around, the tears that were about to escape from her eyes making their way back in.

" I just miss her so much sometimes, you know?" She sniffled.

Even though it had been nine months since Laurel was killed, the wound of grief was an everlasting one, especially for Oliver. Her death was so unexpected, it was almost like Damien had stabbed each one of them in turn.

The team had coped with her death as best they could; by supporting each other.

Even so, every member of Team Arrow had their own personal hell to go through.

Digg had been shocked at the betrayal of his brother, which had ultimately killed Laurel. He had gotten revenge in the end, even if it was against his morals. But then, Andy had gone completely against everything he had once stood for.

Felicity blamed herself too, because she hadn't been there to help. She thought that somehow, she could've changed the events of that dreaded night but in reality, no one could.

Thea had always seen Laurel as the big sister that she never had. After all, they had gotten through the grief of their loved ones by leaning on one anothers' shoulders. Laurel was there for her during one of the hardest times in her life; Thea just wished that she could've done the same now. She had ended up leaving and finding peace, away from Star City.

Quentin had dived head first into denial, thinking that the lazuris pit could bring his baby back to life. When his flicker of hope was blown out by Nyssa, he drowned himself back into the bottle. As far as Oliver knew, Quentin was in rehab, trying to get through the pain without alcohol.

As for Oliver, he never got through it and probably never would. He had lost Laurel. _His _Laurel. She was the reason that Oliver had survived Purgatory. She was the ADA by day and the Black Canary by night. If anyone ever deserved to live, it was her.

Oliver walked over to Felicity and rubbed her back, while muttering words of comfort into her ear.

"We got Darhk and his Ghosts." Oliver whispered." He can't cause anymore suffering."

An alert went off on one of the computers as Felicity perked up and jogged over to her beloved desk.

"What's that alert about?" Oliver asked, shoving the painful memories into the back of his mind.

Felicity typed a few lines of code and confirmed," When we were first dealing with Darhk, I set up a program that would track any known location of The Ghosts or Darhk."

"So… why is it going off now? We got rid of them months ago." Oliver asked, wearily.

"It says here that there is a cabin in the woods that's emitting high levels of dark matter, specifically in the last eight months. It's just going off now because in the past two days, there have been conspicuous drug deals out in front of the forest. By the angle of the street cameras, the drugs were all ones that cause phycological pain and suffering. My guess is someone must've seen it and sent in an anonymous tip to the police. They put the tip into their system but they have been too slammed to take care of it."

Felicity paused, fiddling with her bracelet," I know you've had a hard day but can you go out in the field just once more? It's just, I'm getting a feeling that this one is important."

Oliver felt the same feeling. It was like hope mixed with sadness mixed with urgency." Of course. Call Renee and Rory, we might need backup for this one."

Laurel drew in a shaky breath, as she attempted to pick herself up from the floor. Only, she couldn't. She was too weak. So, she just laid there, wishing, hoping, praying that death would take her. The Ghosts had made sure that she survived that stabbing, even if everyone she ever loved didn't.

They had tortured her, violated her and dulled her down so much that she didn't even know who she was anymore. All she felt was pain, suffering and fear. Fear because she knew no one would come looking for her. Fear of The Ghosts, coming in and torturing her.

She closed her eyes. She could barely keep them open for a minute anyway. But every time she closed them, all she could see were her family and her friends yelling at her, telling her how much of a failure she was and that they didn't love her. Laurel wanted to cry, she wanted to scream but didn't have the strength to. She hadn't stood up in months, even if she wanted to, she couldn't.

She had cement- heavy cuffs around her ankles, wrists and neck. They were connected to even heavier chains that bounded her to the wall.

There were remains of her clothes, her attackers' clothes and shards of glass, scattered amongst the floor.

She was in a constant state of distress. She was violently shaking all the time and her mind was scattered and broken. The Ghosts had been injecting her with drugs; she didn't know which ones, only that they were excruciatingly painful. She had given up.

When she was first brought there, she still had hope that Ollie would come and find her. That he would know where she was and that she was suffering. Sadly, she had given up hope for rescue months ago.

As she stared in the dark, she could hear voices. They sounded angry, or even nervous. Though, Laurel couldn't be sure whether the voices were real, or in her head. The voices were getting louder and Laurel whimpered; she couldn't take the anxiety that one of The Ghosts were coming for her.

She tried to block out cacophony of sounds that were penetrating her eardrums, as she heard arrows being drawn and released._ What,_ Laurel thought. The last time she had heard that was the night that she had been kidnapped.

That little flicker of hope re-lit itself inside of Laurel as she listened as intently as she could.

Oliver nocked his bow and fired three arrows into the Ghosts' chests. Oliver felt good, knowing that he had just rid the world of another rotten soul.

He then proceeded to walk over the bodies and to the front door, knocking it open with his bow. The cabin was extremely messy. There were whisky and beer bottles scattered across the floor, along with used needles and various torture weapons.

"Felicity, whatever's going on here, I think someone is being held captive and tortured. There are torture weapons, women's clothing and all sorts of experimental drugs," Oliver reported.

He heard Felicity type something into her computer and say," Okay, I'm scanning the property for heat signatures. Wild Dog, Ragman, can you go through the back and take out the guards?"

"Yep," they replied.

Oliver could hear the other two vigilantes running through the back, killing Ghosts. Oliver heard something shuffling behind him. He nocked an arrow and swiftly spun around, shooting a Ghost straight in the chest.

Two more came down the stairs as Oliver knocked them out with a roundhouse kick. As Oliver fought the wave of Ghosts, Felicity radioed in," Guys, the only heat signature in there that you haven't taken out, is in the second bedroom. Only, if it's a body, I'm not sure if it's still alive."

"Okay, Felicity. I'm going to check." Oliver carefully walked over to the second bedroom, as Felicity told him. He walked over to the door, which had several heavy locks on it. Since they were old school, Oliver took them and the door out with an explosive arrow.

As he peered in, he saw that the window had been blocked off with steel bars. There wasn't any furniture, however, the person lying on the floor was unmistakable. Oliver knew those beautiful green eyes from anywhere.

"Laurel?" He breathed.

The figure lying on the ground murmured back, "Ollie. It's me."


	2. Chapter 2

Oliver stared at her in disbelief. She was alive. Just barely.

"Felicity, I- I found Laurel," he exclaimed.

"What? Laurel? Our Laurel? You- you found her?"

Oliver had taken his eyes off Laurel for two seconds and they had closed.

"Yes. Felicity I need you to get an IV set up with some blood. We have the same type so just use that."

Oliver was trembling. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He had unknowingly left the love of his life to be tortured.

His voice shaking, he continued." Get blankets, food, anything you think that can help her."

"O- okay, Oliver. I'll have it set up," Felicity said, she too was in an utter state of shock.

"And Felicity?"

"Yes, Oliver?"

"Call Quentin. He should know that Laurel is alive."

"Roger that," She said.

Carefully, Oliver nocked an explosive arrow and shot it at the chains that were bound to her. Once they were broken, he walked over to a trembling Laurel and scooped her up.

When his warm hand touched her ice- cold flesh, she flinched. Oliver started to cry. Laurel was broken. She had huge ring- shaped bruises around her ankles, wrists and neck, where the cuffs had been. She was bone- thin and was as light as a feather.

There were long scars all up her arms and legs and, on her stomach, there were purple and blue bruises. All over her beautiful body, there were open, bloody wounds. She was as pale as a ghost and her face looked sunken in.

Quickly, he jogged out of the cabin and to the van. There, he met John, Renee and Rory.

"Is that- Is that Laurel?" John broke down into tears as he spoke.

Since Renee and Rory had never met Laurel before, they hung back, cautious.

Oliver and John carefully laid Laurel's limp body into the very back seat, before exchanging a long hug.

Yes, they were trained soldiers but even soldiers, have emotion.

Laurel saw him. She couldn't believe it. He had come to rescue her.

"Ollie, it's me," Laurel whispered, using every ounce of strength that she had left.

She was so overcome with relief that she let herself go. She closed her eyes and let the positive endorphins release throughout her body.

She heard Oliver say something but she was so tired, she didn't know what.

Then, there was an explosion close to her head. Her thoughts became a little blurrier, as Oliver bent down and picked her up.

Instinctively, she flinched, trying to get away. She then remembered that it was Ollie.

_He won't hurt me,_ she thought. But then again, she didn't know anything for certain anymore.

She let herself be carried out of the room and outside. The sweet smells of the outdoors paraded their way into Laurels' nose.

She heard more voices approaching her. Stiffening up, she started to panic. After the last nine months, she was so afraid of everything. Even Ollie didn't give her a sense of comfort, like he had done all those months ago.

_Were they The Ghosts?_ The bone- chilling though went through her head. She tried to identify the voice that was talking. To her, it didn't sound like a Ghost.

She was then slid into a cushy, warm, what she could only assume was a van.

Oliver slid in behind her, cradling her head in his lap. She tensed up. Everyone who had touched her in the last nine months had been torturing her. She would let him try to calm her, even though Laurel didn't even know if that was possible anymore. It would take a long time for her to adjust.

They were moving fairly fast, probably because of her. Oliver murmured encouraging words into her ear; convincing her to stay awake, and to relax. She could guess, by how lightheaded she was, that she had lost a lot of blood and desperately needed more.

When he started to stroke her hair, she hummed in disapproval. It was too much. He stopped but kept on murmuring.

After some time, Laurel didn't know how long, they stopped and Oliver quickly picked her up and ran somewhere. They went into a building, then down an elevator. Her senses were so fuzzy, she had no idea what was going on.

She was then lowered onto what felt like a couch, with fuzzy blankets on it.

She could sense that there were people shuffling around her. They were whispering instructions as a needle went into her arm. Laurel had had this feeling too many times before. She somehow gained enough energy to attempt to push away the needle, in distress.

"Laurel, it's okay. It's just an IV pump." Oliver soothed.

Laurel was already spent, so she just went limp again.

As it turns out, though, it wasn't just an IV pump, it was a sedative.

Slowly, she could feel herself slipping away. Her mind went blank, as she passed out.

Barry took a sip of his beer. Even though he technically couldn't get drunk anymore, it felt good to be spending time with his friends, especially Cisco.

Over the last couple of months, they hadn't been on speaking terms. The long and short of it, was that Barry had gone back in time to save his mother, and in doing so, caused a bunch of side effects to the future.

One of the side effects being, that Cisco's brother, Dante, was killed by a drunk driver. Cisco had blamed Barry for Dante's death for so long, until a friend of his showed him that everyone makes mistakes, especially when it came to family and protecting them.

"I know! And the way she just lasered those aliens? It was totally badass." Cisco exclaimed.

"Yeah Barry, I'm so glad that you found Supergirl. Even if it was by accident," Caitlin said, taking a bite out of her burger.

"I know, getting to save the world from aliens, fighting alongside other heroes, it just feels so great." Barry said, reminiscing about the alien takeover.

"And, there haven't been any more metas to fight since we took them down! It's amazing, you know, getting a break." Caitlin said, sighing happily.

"Yeah, we haven't had a break in awhi- "Barry was cut off by his cellphone ringing.

"Saved by the bell," Cisco joked, as Barry picked up his phone, only to see that it was Oliver.

Barry pressed the connect button and brought the phone up to his ear.

"Hey Oliver, how are you doing? I didn't expect to get a call from you so soon," Barry said, glancing over to his friends to make sure that they were listening.

"It's Laurel." Oliver started speaking, but then stopped, seemingly unable to go on.

Barry pressed the speaker button on his phone, as he set it on the table and said," Laurel? I thought you said Damien Darhk killed her."

Cisco and Caitlin were both staring at Barry, the shock being evident on their faces.

Oliver gained his ability to speak again as he said," Yes, we found her being tortured. We need your help. She's dying, Barry. Please."

The three friends looked at each other, appalled by the idea that Oliver would think any less of them.

"Of course, Oliver. Me, Caitlin and Cisco will be right there. We won't lose her again." Barry said, earnestly.

The three were then sped off by Barry and taken to S.T.A.R LABS.

When they arrived, they were greeted by Iris, HR and Joe.

"Hey, you guys. I didn't think that you'd be back so soon," Iris exclaimed, walking over to peck Barry on the cheek.

Barry just looked at her with a haunted gaze.

Iris, being Barry's girlfriend immediately knew that something was wrong.

"Babe, what happened? What's wrong?" Iris questioned.

Barry took a second to gain his composure as Caitlin said," Barry, can you explain? Me and Cisco have to get as much supplies as possible and quick."

Barry and Caitlin looked at each other with a look of understanding; if there was a chance to get someone back, from the dead, then they would make sure that they didn't waste it.

"Yes, of course, Cait." Barry agreed, as Caitlin and Cisco began shoving IV pouches, needles and medication into a box.

"Explain what?" Iris asked, confused and a little bit worried. If they were stuffing medical supplies into a box, that must have meant that someone was hurt.

Barry took a deep breath and began," So we were sitting, eating dinner, when I got a call from Oliver. I was confused at first, because we had just seen each other, until he said that he found Laurel."

Iris, Joe and HR all stared at him in disbelief. They hadn't known Laurel very well, but they had mourned her death like she was the closest family. All except for HR, who had never even met her.

"What? Laurel is alive? I thought Oliver told us that she was killed by Damien Darhk." Iris exclaimed.

"That's what I told him. He just said that they had found her being tortured." Barry sighed, close to tears.

"But that means that she was being tortured for nine months. How is she still alive?" Iris questioned, once again, her reporter self becoming evident.

"Well, she won't be alive for much longer if we don't get there soon." Caitlin said, both her and Cisco bringing the now full boxes over to where Barry was standing.

"Yes, Babe, I'll tell you more when I come back. We can't lose her again." Barry admitted.

"Totally, yeah, of course." Iris said.

"You guys can do it. She concluded, hugging Barry.

Barry, Cisco and Caitlin all nodded, as they were again sped off by Barry, this time with three boxes full of medical supplies.

Leaving Iris, Joe and HR to ponder and send prayers Laurels' way.

Oliver couldn't take his eyes off of her. He was flabbergasted. He had never wanted to see her like this, in this type of pain.

He had no idea what she had endured in the past nine months. But he was sure that, Laurel wouldn't be the same.

She had tensed up whenever he had touched her and had ceased to relax. She was clearly exhausted just by pure worry and anxiety of people coming to get her. She wouldn't let him stroke her hair and had actually summoned up enough strength to try to push away a needle, something that the old Laurel would never try to do.

Oliver knew the side effects of being tortured and preyed upon; they weren't good.

She likely had PTSD and anxiety, at the very least. Yes, almost everyone that Oliver knew had some sort of mental disorder, mostly from being a vigilante and witnessing death and torture. But there were few people that Oliver had encountered, that had gone through extensive torturing.

Oliver had called Barry, because Team Arrow needed the help of Team Flash. Barry, because he had experience with certain types of wounds and marks and could hopefully identify them, Caitlin, because she was a doctor and could provide medical care for Laurel and Cisco because he was like a scientist. He knew stuff about dark matter, which Oliver thought would be important, here.

All Oliver hoped, was that Laurel could come back to them, alive.

If she was broken, then Oliver would help to fix her.

Though, truth be told, Oliver had never fully healed himself, he just hoped different for Laurel.

All of the sudden, there was a woosh, as a red streak of light flew through the air. Barry, Caitlin and Cisco all dropped down, as papers flew every which way.

The three newcomers wasted no time, as they set down the boxes that they were holding.

As Caitlin was dragging a box over to an open space, she said, "Okay, can we move her to a table or something?"

The team all exchanged uncertain glances, as Caitlin continued," She can move back right after. It's just, it's much easier and efficient if we can do her tests on a flat surface." She reassured.

"Yes, of course." Oliver said quickly, before grabbing one of the wheeled tables from the science area and wiping everything off of it.

Notepads, pencils, pens and the loose documents that weren't already on the ground, were now askew.

He then pushed the table, that was just large enough for Laurels' body, over to Caitlin. Then, with the help of John, he gently picked her body up and laid her down on the table. Oliver proceeded to lean over and give Laurel a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Just, please be careful with her," Oliver asked, worried.

Even though Caitlin was under the pressure and stress of doing her job, she completely understood where he was coming from. If it was Ronnie that they'd found, on the verge of death, she'd want them to be as careful and as gentle as possible.

So, she just nodded, starting to unpack the first of three boxes, which consisted of IV pouches and tubes.

Carefully, Caitlin inserted a butterfly needle into Laurels' left arm, while simultaneously attaching an IV pouch to an IV stand, that they'd also brought with them.

She then continued to run a series on tests, unknown to Oliver. However, if Caitlin was running them, then he knew that they were important.

"Caitlin, thank you." Felicity said, meaning every word of it.

"Felicity, you don't have to thank me. She's family. And there's nothing that I wouldn't do for them." Caitlin responded, the ghost of a smile flashing across her face.

Tonight, the Arrowcave had an aura; hope.


	3. Chapter 3

Even though it had only been one hour since Team Flash arrived, it felt like days. Everyone was in shock, mostly because of Laurel's sudden finding but also because of how well Team Arrow were handling it.

Oliver had stayed right by Laurels' side, the whole time. Usually, he would stay away from his loved ones and busy himself with catching whoever did something to them.

Not this time, though. _But,_ Cisco thought, _this is Laurel._ And Laurel had been dead, or so they thought, for nine months. So he guessed that it was normal, you know, if someone had come back from the dead.

He and Caitlin stood beside each other, hands on each others' shoulders', appreciating every second that they had together. With Laurels' supposed death fresh in his mind, he wanted to spend as much time as possible with her. He had always admired, maybe a little too much, how Laurel, or The Black Canary, had taken down bad guys with such finesse.

When she died, he was heartbroken. For awhile, he had carried around the photo of Laurel and him, with Laurel wearing her Black Canary costume, hugging Cisco. He knew it had just been a gag gift but he had cherished it all the same.

He attended her funeral, like everyone else but he didn't feel like he deserved to mourn, as much as he had. After that dreaded day, he, along with Caitlin, had taken a couple days off. They called them, ' processing days'. Days to try to get through the grief. And now, now that Laurel had been found, Cisco didn't know what to think.

In all truth, he wasn't as relieved as he should be. See, the truth was, about a month after Laurel was killed, her doppelganger from Earth-2 had showed up. As it turned out, Laurels' doppelganger was actually a criminal metahuman, named Black Siren.

She had wreaked havoc on Central City, with her Canary Cry. In the end, they had locked her up, in their basement/ metahuman prison. Things were going well, up until about two weeks ago when Black Siren had escaped.

They had no idea where she was and to Cisco, it seemed too much of a coincidence that Black Siren had escaped and then two weeks later, their Laurel had miraculously been found. Even so, that little bit of him firmly believed that it was their Laurel.

Then again, they would find out the facts once her tests came back. Because, there was no way that you could fake being tortured for nine months. Suddenly, the tablet that was sitting on one of the various tables in the room started buzzing.

Caitlin slid her arm off of Ciscos' shoulder, as she walked over to it. She picked up the slim tablet, her eyes flashing from test result to test result. She sighed, then walked over to where Laurel was sleeping.

They had moved her back to the couch that she was initially laid down on, because they felt that it was the most comfortable thing for her. Gently, Caitlin pressed her fingers on Laurels' wrist, checking for a pulse. She then swore lightly under her breath, because it was still pretty weak.

She then glanced at her tablet once more, as if checking to make sure that something was there. Then, for a brief moment, a look of confusion, then realization, then worry spread across her face. But as quickly as the falter had come, it disappeared.

Caitlin took a deep breath, then cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. It wasn't hard though; everyone was on pins and needles waiting to hear about Laurels' condition.

She then started," So, I have Laurels' lab results back and I think everyone should prepare themselves." As she paused, everyone visibly got more anxious, as they followed Caitlins' instructions and prepared themselves for what came next.

" Laurel is severely malnourished and dehydrated." She paused, taking a deep breath." Her body is covered in approximately, 15% scar tissue." At that, Oliver's breath hitched.

_15%?_ He thought. He couldn't help feeling guilty.

When Oliver came back from his five years away, the doctor had said that he was covered in 20% scar tissue. But that made sense. He was away on an island for five years and was tortured almost every day of it. If Laurel had managed to be tortured and beaten so much that there was that much scar tissue covering her, then she really was scarred, in more ways than one.

" By the buildup of scar tissue around her wrists, ankles and neck, it isn't likely that the bruises will fade." Sighing, Caitlin continued," She has five broken ribs that never got the chance to heal, 6 fractures that didn't heal properly and a severe concussion." She paused, seemingly preparing herself for what she said next.

" Her blood has been exposed to mass amounts of dark matter, vertigo and several other phycopathic torture drugs." There were several gasps of surprise, and as they echoed throughout the room, Oliver's head started to spin.

_Dark matter? But wasn't dark matter the thing that gave Barry his speed?_ His thoughts were going in a million different directions. Oliver tried to get his mind back to reality but in doing so, he came to a realization. Laurel was now a meta. She had to be.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Note: Hi guys! I hope that everyone is enjoying the fic so far! I've had the idea to do a fic where Laurel is found alive, in 510, and it actually being Laurel. I'm going to try to keep the fic to 1,500 words a chapter, just so that I have time to do IRL things. And yes, Laurel has her cry, just like in pretty much all the fics that I read. Obviously, I don't own any of the characters in this fic, or Arrow. You'll also notice that there isn't any Laurel POV in this chapter. It's just the way that I envisioned it. But, there will be alot of Laurel's POV in chapter 5. Anyway, I hope that you guys enjoy, and feel free to leave a review, because those help me more than you know.:)**

Oliver was about to speak up but John was clearly thinking the same thing," Wait, dark matter? Isn't that the thing that made you super fast?" He asked, directing the question at Barry.

" Well, yeah. But I don't see where they could've got it, if they really did." Barry confessed, confusion enveloping his already jumbled mind.

" Wait, that makes sense," Felicity said, as everyone stared at her in confusion.

" Felicity, an explanation will be necessary here," Oliver reminded, prompting her to speak.

" Right, so when we found Laurel, it was because there was an unusual spike of dark matter in the cabin where she was held." She explained.

" But how? Dark matter can't just be formulated in a lab. We've done extensive research to make sure," Barry asked.

Felicity, typing away a storm on the computers, replied, " Well, if not in a lab, what if it was created by another meta? I did a little bit of digging into the Dark Web and I found something that matches the description.

" There is a meta, his name is unknown, but he cries pure dark matter. My guess is that a not-very-nice someone found out about his special ability. He must've been sold and forced to make more. How it got to be a drug, I have no idea. Someone was probably looking for newer, deadlier poisons and found him along the way." Felicity said, not out of breath due to her extensive experience, of saying a paragraph in only one breath.

Barry, standing behind her, looked at the computer and said," It says here that the drug is called Curio. Oh, and it's very deadly. Apparently no one has survived more than one high with it. And, I'm guessing it's not very recreational." He finished, worriedly.

After another quick bought of typing, Felicity continued," Yes. The Ghosts must've given Laurel an exact dose, to make sure that she suffered but didn't die." As Felicity stopped, she glanced over at Laurel, willing her to get better.

Oliver, he was more concerned about Laurel potentially being a meta.

" Caitlin, where does the dark matter register in her body?" He asked, wondering if she maybe had powers like Barry, or even Cisco.

" Um, yes." She looked hesitantly at Barry and Cisco as all three of them exchanged a knowing look.

" It's- It's in her throat," Caitlin admitted, as she fiddled with a ring on her finger.

Oliver noticed the almost unnoticeable glance that Team Flash shared. Oliver was very experienced in those looks. They could only mean one thing; they were hiding something.

Barry, knowing Oliver very well, also noticed that Oliver noticed the glance that he, Cisco and Caitlin shared. And, he could tell that Oliver was going to voice his opinion.

So, just as Oliver was about to speak, Barry decided to come clean, even if it meant that it would hurt the people that he cared about.

" Oliver, guys, there's something that we haven't told you," Barry started, looking at Felicity, John and, most importantly, Oliver.

Oliver looked back at him, with guarded curiosity.

" Okay, so a couple weeks after Laurels' supposed death, her doppelganger, from Earth-2, showed up. She's a meta, named Black Siren. The reason why we're worried, is because she had a power, a Canary Cry. Only, it's much more powerful than the one that Laurel had." Barry paused, gesturing over to Laurel.

" You could see the soundwaves when she screamed. It could demolish buildings, and make someone go deaf," he said, waiting for Olivers' response.

Oliver, being infuriated that Barry, someone he considered to be like a brother, would keep something like this from him, said," But, you caught her, right? So there is absolutely no possibility that this isn't our Laurel?" Oliver asked, anger and annoyance creating a warning in his voice.

" Well," Barry hesitated," A couple of weeks ago, she escaped," he said cringing away from Oliver in fear of backlash. Once, Oliver had shot two arrows into his back, as a training method. So, Barry didn't want to imagine what he could do out of anger.

But before Oliver could bite back a retort, Barry continued," We don't know how she got out. We just went down to the pipeline one day to check up on her, and she was gone. We tried to find her, I even did a full sweep of the city, but she was nowhere to be found," Barry justified.

Oliver, hardly managing to hide his ever- rising anger, said," So, Barry, let me get this straight.

You mean to tell me that Laurel- Laurel's doppelganger shows up, and it dosen't even cross your mind to tell us? The initial part doesn't matter. It's the fact that she, first escaped your apparently ' meta proof' cells, and second, you didn't tell us! Wouldn't the information of an evil doppelganger of one of our dead family members be important, to tell us? Barry, I can't beli-"

Oliver's voice continued to rise as Felicity interrupted," Oliver, can I talk to you for a sec?" She said, her voice as sharp as a knife, as she forcefully jerked her head in the other direction.

Without speaking, they made an agreement; don't argue. The two walked to the other side of the room, where their lecture, or Felicity's lecture, was quieter, but not silent.

" Oliver! Look, I completely understand what you're feeling right now, but so does everybody else in this room. Laurel's basically just come back from the dead. Emotions and nerves are high. But, you can't go around, yelling at the people who are supposed to be your friends."

Felicity whisper- yelled, as she took a breath to calm herself, then continued," Barry clearly didn't tell us about Black Siren because he cares about us. He didn't want to rip open a healing wound. If an evil doppelganger of Barry's dad showed up, would you go running over to Central City to tell him? No, no you wouldn't because Barry already has enough on his plate to deal with and he wouldn't need to add his dead dad's evil twin to the list," Felicity said, exasperated and willing Oliver to understand.

Oliver just didn't know what to think. He had just gotten Laurel back, and now she might not even be theirs?

He was conflicted. On one hand, Laurel, which ever one she was, was too broken to show any sign that it was really her. Whereas, on the other, in Olivers' gut, he knew that it was his Laurel. But could he really trust his own judgement?

He was just all too hopeful for it to be his Laurel.

Oliver just nodded, numbly. Felicity must've noticed, because she said," I know this must be hard on you. You blamed yourself for Laurels' death, hell, we all did. All I'm saying is, we should be leaning on each other, not fighting amongst ourselves. She said softly, as she slowly walked back to the others, leaving Oliver behind.

.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author Note: So, here's chapter 5! I actually wrote all of it, right after I finished watching Arrow's series finale. I honestly just want to say how much Arrow had helped me over the years. Like, words just can't describe. If I was having a tough time, Arrow was always there to distract me and help me get through it. Sure, Supergirl might've been my first love, but Arrow will always and forever be in my heart. I couldn't contemplate with the fact that Arrow was over, so I just wrote a chapter of Fanfic instead. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and like usual, please leave a review, because they help more than you know:) **

**P.S: I obviously don't own Arrow or any of the characters that I use, because if I did, Laurel never would've died.**

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Laurel awoke. She could feel her mind getting less fuzzy by the minute. But, in that same amount of time, anxiety was rising.

She felt stronger than when she had fallen asleep. Speaking of which, how long was she out for? Laurel usually didn't sleep for very long, due to the very real fear of someone getting her.

The air where she was didn't smell like the old, dingy air of her cell, and instead of a rock- hard concrete floor, she was laying on what had to be a couch. There were fuzzy blankets atop her and a feather-soft pillow holding her head up.

_Ow, my head,_ she thought. She then reached out to the rest of her body, only to wish that she hadn't. Her whole body felt like it had been beaten and lashed out on. _Then again, _she thought, _that is what happened._ Every time she tried to breathe, her chest felt like it was going to explode. And even trying to think straight was difficult, what with her head feeling as if someone was pounding on it with a jackhammer.

Even though all she wanted was peace, in sleep, Laurel decided to find out where she was, since she had little memory of what had happened the night before.

She reached out with her ears, and could hear typing, then whispered murmuring about something. Feet were shuffling, not close to her but also not far away.

So, Laurel made the brave, but anxiety inducing move; she opened her eyes. Honestly, she was surprised that she even could, judging by how tired and weak she was. So when she did, she was amazed but also confused.

Above her, were metal rafters, reaching very high. She used her powers of deduction to figure out that this place was probably underground.

There were green and white lights reflecting from everything; it looked almost like a base. Reaching back into her memories, those lights reminded her of something.

She, Oliver, Thea, Digg and Felicity were all being taken down an elevator, which had the same color lights. They had then walked into a huge base, complete with military-level tec, several different training and sparring mats and a wall full of display cases, to keep their suits in.

She latched on to that memory as she slowly tilted her head to the side, only to find six faces staring back at her. Because of her concussion, her memory was foggy. But even though it was foggy, she couldn't mistake the people that she saw anywhere.

" Oliver, Felicity, John? Am I in the bunker?" Laurel asked in a small voice, amazed by what she was seeing.

Among those three, there was also Barry, Caitlin and Cisco, her friends, or really family from Team Flash. They all gazed at her with such a loving warmth that it made her heart break.

The Ghosts had told her that they were all dead. That they'd been killed by Damien Darhk, that they had lost the seemingly ever-going war.

Yet, there they were standing, healthy and happy. Laurel couldn't help but cry tears of joy. She had been rescued! This was what she had been wanting for the past nine months. Words couldn't describe the thoughts that were going through her head.

She wanted to go over to them, to hug them and feel their touch to make sure that this wasn't just some sick game. But, as she tried to get up, she found that she was too weak. She wasn't surprised, so she just settled for propping herself up on her elbows. Still very difficult, but manageable.

Oliver could see that she was struggling, so he bent down beside her, emotions taking him over, and said," Laurel, relax. You're weak."

And as he did, he reached out towards her, wanting to hold her hand.

Laurel wanted to meet him halfway, for their two hands to embrace. But all she could imagine when she saw his hand, so willing to meet hers, was the filthy, dirty, grimy hand of a Ghost.

They had always grabbed both of her hands and slammed her against the walls, leaving bruises as they forced themselves on her. Laurel closed her eyes as her breath hitched, tears pouring out of her eyes as her thoughts spun uncontrollably.

Before she knew it, she had her trembling hands rested on her face, trying to calm herself down as she fought a rising sense of panic. It was getting harder and harder to breathe by the second.

As sobs racked through her broken body, Oliver stayed by her side. Seeing her reaction, he had drawn his hand away, not wanting to upset her more. Instead he just gazed at her, the love of his life, trying to think of what to do.

Oliver had had these, he guessed they were called panic attacks, many times before. He reached back into his memory, trying to remember the things that he did to calm himself. He hadn't been with anyone when they happened; they had mostly occured when he was reminded of a not-so-nice memory from the island.

Laurel's mind just kept replaying those terrible moments of torture, as her sense of reality dipped away. She was trying, but she couldn't make it stop. She then found herself gasping for air, as her panic peaked.

Suddenly, Oliver remembered. He had always thought of _Laurel_. How she had gotten him through those five years full of pain and suffering. Maybe, just maybe, if he got her to think of some happy, joyous moments with him, or her family, it would be enough.

Laurel was sinking deeper into the darkness, as she heard a voice. It sounded detached, far away.

" Laurel, just breathe. Focus on my voice. Focus on all the happy memories that we have together," Oliver soothed, hoping that it would help.

As Oliver said this, Laurel's mind drifted a little bit. It drifted to the night when Oliver had told her that he was The Vigilante. There had been so many emotions, but most of all, love. At that, she was reminded that she still loved Oliver.

Laurel's breathing became a little steadier, as she listened again for that detached voice, that was so familiar.

" Remember, the first time you put on you Black Canary suit?" Oliver asked, wanting her mind to ease off of the panicking topic.

Laurel's mind flashed to another memory. She was walking into their old bunker, with her sister's Canary suit on. Digg and Felicity were there, looking at her with happiness in their gazes.

" You know, if this is going to become a regular thing, we need to come up with something other than ' The Canary', as your code name," Digg had said.

" Yeah, I was thinking, ' Black Canary'." She had said, a dazzling smile lighting up across her face. It was close enough to ' The Canary', so that she could still honor her sister but different enough to distinguish between the two of them.

As she thought about this, Laurel's heart rhythm slowed, until it was almost back to normal. Her racking sobs ceased to regular tears, as she tried even harder yet to rid the bad memories from her head.

She thought more about her family, how they had always been there for her. And, if Laurel was being honest, they were the reason that she was still alive. The memory of them, or most importantly of Ollie, was the light at the end of her never-ending tunnel.

As part of her senses returned, she heard Ollie say," Laurel, it's okay. You're safe now."

Laurel was calmer, but could still feel the looming threat of panic. Even so, she slowly removed her hands from her face, and opened her eyes.

Her friends and family were staring in her direction, concern in their eyes. She wanted to thank all of them, to catch them in a tight embrace but she just let her body go limp. The crying and shaking and the memories, oh the memories, had left her both physically and emotionally drained.

She willled for sleep to take her, but she knew that it wouldn't; she was too scared. Still violently trembling, Laurel tried to block out the memories. It was impossible. She tried to think of other, much happier memories, but every memory lead to another one, which always lead back to torture.

Seeing this, Oliver sympathized for her. He knew exactly how she was feeling. Alone, helpless, _afraid_. How you felt as if nothing and no one in the world could help you.

Slowly, Oliver got up from his kneeling position and walked over to Caitlin. The two exchanged a few short words, which ended with Caitlin sighing and pointing to the smallest of three boxes. Solemnly, Oliver walked over to it, only to open it and reveal several packaged medical needles.

He picked one up, along with a glass jar full of very powerful sedative. Oliver then unwrapped the package, glancing over at Laurel, who was still visibly in pain and sucked some of the clear liquid into the needle.

Oliver walked over to the love of his life and, staring at her with such love and affection, stuck the needle into her arm, quickly injecting the liquid into it. There was some struggle, clearly she didn't like it. _But_, Oliver decided, _It's for the best._

Laurel then hung limp once more, the notes of trembling slowly leaving her bruised body. He turned away, sadness and grief in his eyes, as he said," I think that we all need to prepare ourselves for the worst. Laurel, well, she's broken," he sighed, a tear escaping his eye.

But before he knew it, more and more were leaking out, and he was in Diggle's arms. He knew that he was safe but Laurel, he was hopelessly unsure.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: So, this is Chapter 6. Honestly, I'm surprised. I posted chapter 1, just to see how writing fanfics felt like, not expecting to carry on. But, here I stand, posting the sixth chapter of the longest story I've ever written. So, what I'm saying is, thank you. Because, I wouldn't have been able to do this w/out you guys****?****. Also, just a warning, in this chapter, I mention suicide. I don't get graphic or gory of anything like that, and I don't intend to. It's just mentioned. The new posting schedule for this fic will be every Tuesday/Wednesday and every Saturday/Sunday. Also, I honestly hate a lot of what the CW writers wrote in seasons 5-7(which is when this fic is based), so if anyone has literally any ideas, of things that you've always wanted to happen, just leave a review. And, of course same goes with ships. I will say that AgentCanary will happen, as well as perhaps SnowBarry. With that said, I am open to suggestion, or to having my mind changed. If I do pick one of your ideas, I will mention it, and credit you. Honestly, this goes for any of the fics that I plan on writing as well. So, if I don't end up using your idea in this fic, it will most likely happen in one in the future. Anyway, I hope you enjoy Chapter 6.**

It had been a dreary four days for Team Arrow.

Laurel had been in and out of consciousness, and when she was awake, she was in pain.

Honestly, they were all a mess. They were so worried, that they just stayed in the bunker, afraid that Laurel would be taken.

They had woken her a few times, to see if they could get her to adjust and let go of her fear, but it was seemingly hopeless. Every time, she either panicked and spun out of control or, she was too tired to do anything.

Oliver had sent Team Flash home after a couple days; he felt guilty to be pulling them from protecting their city.

Felicity and Caitlin had been rallying Laurels' vitals and blood tests back and forth, and Caitlin had confirmed that Laurel was out of the woods, and was getting stronger.

However, she was still delirious and numb, but no one could blame her, after what she'd just went through.

Team Arrow had just taken a pause, and, so it seemed, did crime.

John, Felicity and Oliver just stayed put, with Felicity occasionally going out to get food. Since Rory and Renee had never known Laurel, they were coming and going from the bunker, being wary of her health, but also carrying on life as normal.

John trained, cleaned up around the bunker and made sure that Laurel was comfortable; some of the few things that he was doing to distract himself from the real reason that Laurel was like this: him.

Well, not him directly. His blind trust in his clearly suspicious brother, had led to the team being trapped, Laurel being 'fatally' stabbed, and so much pain for everyone that he held close.

Oliver, he had barely moved from Laurels' side.

He couldn't bare the thought of leaving her again, after they had just got her back. So, he just sat, next to her cot, monitoring her and making sure she got the best care possible.

As Oliver was enveloped in his own little world, Felicity coming up behind him actually startled him, something that hadn't happened for quite some time. _But then,_ he thought,_ neither has a supposed resurrection._

"Hey, Oliver," She said, her hand lightly resting on his shoulder," So, I was talking to Caitlin, and she said that she had a degree in phycology." Oliver could see where this was going," And she'd be willing to do therapy with Laurel once she gets a little better," Felicity said, quietly, while staring at Laurel the entire time.

Oliver heard this and pondered.

When he had come back from the island, he hadn't needed therapy, and he'd turned out just fine.

_Did I really, though?_ He thought.

But then again, Oliver had actually managed to make some relationships. Sure, most of them had been broken, mostly by death, but they were relationships nonetheless.

Whereas, Laurel had been trapped in a cell for nine months, with no contact to the outside world.

She had been told that everyone that she ever loved was dead, and that she would never escape.

And, she was so isolated, she had actually believed it.

At least Oliver had always had the hope and reassurance that his family was alive.

So, he decided, after lots of thinking, that Caitlin's therapy would be the best thing for her.

"Felicity, that sounds like a great idea," Oliver said, after quite some time.

"Good. Though, Caitlin said that for the first few times, she wants to come to Laurel. You know, to make the situation easier, by Laurel being in a familiar place. You never know how she could react to new, or newer people _and_ a new setting." Felicity said, hoping that Oliver would oblige.

Oliver was completely for the idea. He knew from experience that the transition back to normal life was very difficult, best to make things as easy as possible.

"Actually, that's what I was going to ask," Oliver agreed, "That way, we can make things gradual for Laurel, and make sure that she doesn't get overwhelmed."

Felicity began another flurry of typing, ending in her saying," Okay. Caitlin said that she and Barry will come over here, tonight. She also says to make sure that Laurel is awake and responsive. So, we should probably get on that," She ended, looking at Oliver questioningly, as if asking for permission to proceed.

"Yes, of course," Oliver agreed, wanting to get Laurel help asap," Just let me talk to John first," He said, glancing over in Digg's direction, only to see him clearly beating himself up over something.

He then, reluctantly, got up from his sitting position, feeling that his legs were very stiff, and walked over to Digg.

"So," Oliver said, while simultaneously stretching his legs," I thought, that, as the CEO of blaming yourself for something, I would give some advice to someone who is clearly doing just that."

Oliver looked at John, clearly wanting him to explain himself.

"Oliver, I just can't shake the feeling that Laurel, all of this, it's my fault." John paused, and Oliver refrained from interrupting, even though every bone in his body was telling him to.

"I was the one who trusted Andy, even when you warned me that he wasn't who he said he was. All of that, it all led to Laurel being stabbed and then her dying- or supposedly dying. I thought that I had dealt with all that guilt and anger, when we thought that she was dead. But now, now that we found out that she never died, even if she probably wanted to, I just don't know, man," Digg confessed, only further concreting Oliver's' guess.

"Digg, I know for a fact, that you did everything you possibly could to avenge Laurels' supposed death." As Oliver paused, an image of John's dead brother went flying into his head. No doubt that's what John was thinking about, too.

"And I also know, that when she gets better," Oliver paused at John's look," Yes, _when_ she gets better, and we tell her everything, she'll say the exact same thing. That there was nothing that you- that any of us, for that matter, could've done to prevent this. So, John- "Oliver was cut off by Felicity's high heels clacking towards them.

"Hey, guys. I don't want to interrupt anything, but I figured that you would want to hear about this," Felicity said, grief edging her voice.

"Anyway," She continued, staring at Oliver," You know how you told me to call Quentin, to tell him that Laurel was alive?" She asked.

"Yes, then you told me that he had somehow escaped from rehab, and was missing," Oliver confirmed, reminding himself of yet another worry.

He then looked at Felicity questioningly, wondering why her tone sounded so firm, almost as if she didn't want to let anyone in.

"Right, So, I looked into it more, and a couple of days ago I called a nurse who works there. She-she told me that she would call me if they found him. Well, well they did," she paused, a look of regret, and was that grief edging her voice?

"Felicity, what's wrong?" Oliver asked, trying not to panic.

"It's, he-he killed himself, Oliver."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: I don't own Arrow or any of its characters. Just getting that out there. Also, I've had a lot of days off school because of weather. So, I can basically write a chapter per day. That being said, I want to maybe start another fic, based kind of around my own version of Arrow. Lemmie know if that's something that you'd be interested in ****?****. Also, again in this chapter, I mention suicide. I will dig deeper into why it happened, in chapters to come, but again, no graphic or gory scenes. Anyway, I hope you enjoy Chapter 7!**

"What?" Oliver gasped, reeling from what he had just heard.

"Wait, Felicity, did you say what I think you just said?" Digg asked, staring at her in horror.

Felicity just stood there, tears pouring out of her eyes.

"John, you know what I said, don't make me do it again," she whimpered.

Oliver didn't know what to think. They had just got Laurel back. Why was it that they always had to lose someone? Couldn't they just be happy?

Quentin had been devastated after Laurels' sudden death; partly because he felt that he was responsible for it, and because he had just lost his eldest daughter.

And, all Oliver wanted for him, was to be able to see his baby girl, alive.

_Laurel._ Oliver's thoughts jumped straight towards her, and so it seemed, did his gaze.

_She's been through hell,_ he thought. _The last thing that she needs right now is her dad's death. _

"Guys, Laurel. What will she think? We want to get her back to normal, or at least as normal as possible. I don't see how, without Quentin," Oliver said, even more concerned than he had been before.

Digg, already ahead of the game, said," Hey, remember back when Sara died?" He paused, as all three of them winced, not wanting to think of that painful memory." Well, Laurel held off of telling Quentin because of his heath."

They then looked at each other with a look of realization.

"So," Felicity said," You're asking us to pull a 'Laurel'?"

Digg thought about that for a minute, then said, "Essentially. I mean, after all, Laurel's health is much, much worse than Quentin's' was."

Felicity and John looked over at Oliver, who was staring lovingly at Laurel. Felicity envied that look.

On queue, as if he could sense their stares, Oliver turned around.

He glanced at Digg and Felicity, knowing that they wanted to hear his opinion.

Oliver thought for a moment. He didn't want to lie to Laurel ever again, but he couldn't tell her about Quentin. He now understood exactly how Laurel had felt, back when Sara died. Grieving, but not wanting to cause any pain to the person that she loved. Nevertheless, he would lie, this one last time.

"Well," Oliver started," If it benefits Laurel, then I'm all for it." He said, turning back to stare at her.

"But, we're gonna have to act regular. We can't let her know that anything is wrong." Oliver said, his eyes flitting over to a box that Caitlin had left, that had the sedative antidote.

"Okay, it's settled then," Felicity said, uncertain.

"But what about the funeral? Or the news? He was the police captain; it's going to have coverage. She'll eventually hear about it somewhere," Felicity pointed out, trying to find a loophole that Oliver would agree to.

Oliver thought about that for a minute, then said," We'll just cut her off. No news, no visitors other than close friends and family, and they have to be pre-approved and informed before they come. As for the funeral, she just won't go."

"Wha- "

"It's the best thing for her. She won't be able to handle everything," Oliver said, cutting off Felicity's retort.

Digg and Felicity looked at each other, concern sharing in their gazes but also knowing, because they both knew that Oliver wouldn't budge.

Oliver knew what Felicity and John would be thinking, but he didn't care. He knew Laurel the best out of almost anyone in the world.

Oliver would just do what he thought was best and deal with the repercussions when they came.

"Alright, then," John said.

"I guess we should wake up Laurel, get her ready for tonight," he said.

"Yes, and I'll call Team Flash and tell them, make sure that they don't mention it," Felicity said, as she turned around, wiped the leftover tears from her face and walked back to her desk.

Then, the two remaining friends stood up and parted ways.

John went over to the box that held the sedative antidote and unwrapped one of the larger needles. Laurel would need a bigger dose to counteract all of the sedative that had been put into her system.

He then walked over to Oliver, who was picking up Laurel, and carrying her over to a comfier couch, which she could sit up in.

John handed the needle off to Oliver, who in turn took the cap off and, slowly, injected it into her arm. Feelings were somber as Laurel started to stir.

Laurel felt that familiar sensation of a cold liquid, burning her body, as she was forced awake.

She was healthier and because of this, she remembered the other encounters that she had had, which were almost identical to this one.

Her head hurt a lot less than it usually did, with it being just a regular headache, instead of a pounding jackhammer kind of one.

Then, she opened her eyes almost immediately, blinking away sleep. She knew what, or rather _who_ she normally saw; Team Arrow. Her family.

When her eyes opened, she half expected to be in that rotting cell again but, her family hadn't failed her, she was still safe in the bunker.

Laurel looked around, seeing that she was in a different spot than she had been, nothing to sweat about, it was just something different.

The air smelt fresher, almost as if they had used an air freshener.

Instead of her usual cot, she was sitting up, on a couch. She looked herself over; she was terribly thin, with dozens of scars scattered across her body but healthier nonetheless.

She then turned her head in the teams' direction, or, more importantly, Oliver's.

"Hey, Pretty Bird." Oliver said, staring at her lovingly." How are you feeling?"

Laurel met his gaze, returning the love and said," Better. I still feel like I got hit by a semi, but still better," Laurel joked, surprised at how strong and confident she felt.

Oliver sighed, happy that she was feeling better.

_Sure, now she is_, he thought._ But as soon as she's reminded of her horrors, she'll spiral._ The voice of reason spoke inside Oliver's head.

He sure hoped not. They had taken precautions; hid anything that might be a trigger, and they had definitely made sure to hide ALL needles.

Laurel sighed, not knowing what to say. She wanted to be close to Oliver, but he looked hesitant. As if he wanted to come over, but there was something stopping him.

"Laurel, can I come over?" He asked, confusing Laurel.

She was going to ask why he would say such a thing; he knew that he could come over any time he liked.

Then, she remembered. The endless torture. The rescue. Everything.

Oliver looked intently at Laurel, as pain flashed in her gaze.

_She remembered,_ Oliver thought.

Laurel did the best she could to think of other things, happier things, and it was somewhat working.

As her breathing started to speed up, she calmed it down. She stopped her hands from trembling, and only a few tears escaped her eyes.

Oliver was looking at her the entire time, pride expanding in his chest.

She had managed to stop herself from panicking! She really was making progress.

As she calmed herself down, Laurel gazed back at Oliver, and said," Of course, Ollie."

Oliver accepted her invitation, as he waltzed over.

He squatted down, so that he was below her eye level.

Laurel tilted her head downwards, so that their eyes met.

Oliver took great pleasure in doing this, he had been yearning for those green eyes for almost a year. However, when he gazed into the emerald depths, he saw something different. The spark, the playful gleam, it was gone.

Gone, was all signs of adolescence, there was only seriousness. That rock-hard determination that he had seen so long ago, was gone.

His gaze didn't falter though; he already had a certain emotional barrier up.

His hand rose up from the ground and hovered in the air, in front of Laurels'.

Laurel's gaze flitted to his hands for a moment, as a thought went through her head.

_Pull away! He'll hurt you,_ it said. At that, she flinched. She didn't know much for sure anymore, but what she did know, is that Ollie wouldn't hurt her.

So, her gaze rested back on Oliver, as she set her lightly trembling hands, in Oliver's.


End file.
